Sara Duterte won’t appear at April 29 House impeachment hearing — Poa
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte will not attend the House committee on justice’s next hearing on the impeachment complaints against her.
Atty. Michael Poa, spokesperson for Duterte’s defense team, confirmed this in a press conference on Thursday, a day after the justice panel held its second hearing on the impeachment complaints, where the vice president also did not appear.
READ: Sara Duterte a no-show on Wednesday’s impeachment hearing
On April 29, the Committee on Justice is set to conduct what could be its final hearing on the impeachment complaints, during which it will tackle the vice president’s alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Yes, because that has always been our position,” Poa said when asked if Duterte will still not attend the House committee’s proceeding.
“And I think the members of the House also understand that—that is our position,” he added.
Poa said they “have to maintain and be consistent” with their position of not attending the House hearings, citing their recent filing of a petition before the Supreme Court to immediately halt the impeachment proceedings.
He also reiterated that Duterte will only personally answer the allegations against her in an “appropriate forum,” which he said is the Senate.
“We truly believe that if this really goes up to the Senate impeachment, you will see the defense’s response in all aspects,” Poa said in Filipino.
During the clarificatory hearing on Wednesday, the 39 members of the House committee scrutinized Duterte’s financial records, where the Anti-Money Laundering Council confirmed that it found suspicious and covered several transactions made by Duterte and her relatives.
READ: Sara Duterte blasts Trillanes, COA, AMLC: Billions in banks untrue
Duterte, in a statement earlier this Thursday, meanwhile denied having billions of pesos worth of transactions in her bank accounts, saying that her service record is “clean.” /mcm
